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In the last few years garlic preparations, in various forms, have become increasingly popular with the general public due to their claims of maintaining a healthy heart and circulation. How justified these claims actually are? Read this spice story to find out!
Garlic (Allium sativum) is indeed a wonderful herb, equally if not more effective than prescription drugs in a variety of cardiovascular ailments. It has the added advantage of having few known side effects, hence it should be possible to start prophylactic treatment earlier as compared to the high priced synthetic drugs.
Garlic has long been cited as having a range of health benefits. As far back as 2700 B.C. Chinese used garlic to treat a variety of illnesses and for enhancing vigour. Ayurveda recommends garlic to boost energy and treat common colds and fatigue.
In the last 15 years most studies on garlic have focussed mainly on its cardiovascular effects. These studies were primarily related to atherosclerosis (formation of fatty streaks in the walls of arteries) where effects were examined on serum Cholesterol, Low Density Lipids (LDL), High Density Lipids (HDL) and triglycerides. The effects of garlic on atherosclerosis and on levels of serum lipids have been investigated extensively.
Specific cholesterol lowering compound Allicin was extracted from garlic. Studies on animals indicate that allicin reduces the development of atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic mice and rabbits. Similar atherosclerotic plaques present in the walls of large and medium sized arteries of our heart cause the potentially lethal coronary artery disease (CAD).
It is known that the higher the level of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), the greater the risk of CAD; conversely the higher the High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), the lower the risk of CAD. Garlic has been shown to lower LDL-C the bad cholesterol, while increasing HDL-C, the so-called good cholesterol. Regular intake of garlic reduces the risk of blood clots and thus helps in preventing the acute ischaemic attacks (heart attack due to sudden blockade of arteries) in patients with known cardiovascular risk factors.
The effects of different garlic preparations (powder and oil) were studied on the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of voluntary subjects. It was found that standardised garlic powder products lower the raised blood pressure significantly.
Thus it is obvious that garlic is an extremely cardiac friendly herb. In fact, if garlic had been created in the laboratory instead of by nature, it would probably be high-priced prescription drug.
Dr Pradeep Kapoor M.D.
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